Pedal Assist Bikes at Winter Park Resort

Posted on August 16, 2012 by Chris

Battery Powered Bikes in Winter Park, Colorado

Winter Park Base Rentals is offering pedal assisted bikes for travel on paved surfaces. This makes for a great trip on the Fraser RIver Trail down into the town of Winter Park with a pedal assisted return.

These bikes are perfect for those not acclimated to the altitude, not wanting to break a sweat or just not in good enough shape to pedal back up the hill to Winter Park Resort. These bikes are powered with a lithium-ion battery with a range of around 20 miles.

Bikes can also be rented with a Burley, kid chariot, to take the little ones around in style.

Check out Winter Park Resorts pedal assist bike video on YouTube.

The whole family no matter from what altitude or their physical conditioning can now take the Fraser River Trail all the way from Winter Park Resort to the town of Fraser with little exertion. A trip to Safeway could even be thrown in with the pedal assistance helping out with the long slog of the groceries.

Check out the pedal assist bike selection right next to the Human Maze at the Winter Park Resort Base.

Winter Park Resort – Top Family Ski Destination/Resort

Posted on April 6, 2011 by Chris

family ski resort winter park co Winter PArk Resort best for family

Top Family Ski Destination Winter Park Ski Resort

The word is getting out not only about what a great ski destination Winter Resort is but also what a great place for families.

OnTheSnow.com has bestowed Winter Park/ Mary Jane the honor of being named the people’s choice award for Best Family Resort. That is right el numero uno! Best family resort in ……. everywhere.

With locals who care about skiing, having fun and caring for guests, Winter Park is a great place for a kid friendly ski vacation. That’s right we here in Winter Park aren’t about the fur coats, look at me aren’t I sooo cool attitude. No we are here to have a great time enjoy the beautiful Colorado Rocky Mountains and ski and learn to ski.

Nice work OnTheSnow.com and all those that voted. Winter Park is getting the praise it so strongly deserves.

Here is how the OnThe Snow folk describe WInter Park and Mary Jane:

Perfectly positioned next to the Continental Divide, Winter Park has the distinct advantage of being able to catch winter storms from nearly every direction. Western and southern storms get “trapped” by the Divide. Northern and eastern “upslope” storms often spread over the west side of the Divide and add to the snowpack. On average, Winter Park receives 369 inches of snow annually – a factor that has led to its long-held claim of being Denver’s favorite place to ski. Winter Park is actually owned by the city of Denver, but operated by Intrawest. The area is 67 miles from Denver. Though it is completely interconnected by lifts, it has separate base areas: Mary Jane and Winter Park. Mary Jane is where you’ll find the famous bumps and super-steeps. Advanced skiers favor the Zephyr Express on the Winter Park side.

We here at Winter Park Lodging Company know about this family ski business as you can see Mom and the WPLCo twin mascots above learning to ski. The terrain is perfect for kids to learn and dad and the older one’s have Mary Jane to get tucker’d out on. And don’t forget about our snow! We have lots, in fact, the most of any destination resort in all of Colorado and it stays around longer, it’s colder here.

Looking for the best family friendly ski destination, it is Winter Park Resort!

Winter Park, Colorado Sleigh Rides

Posted on December 29, 2010 by Chris

Colorado sleigh rides Horse Drawn Sleigh Rides in the Colorado Rockies

We had a chance to take a sleigh ride here in Winter park a couple of days before Christmas. What a thrill for the whole family. Kids, Grandparent and the parents were all a-gag about what a cool experience we had.

Our 1400 lb sled was pulled by two 2000 lb horses that were as friebdly as I can imagine horses a could be. Our twin boys thought they were great. The sleigh ride lasted about an hour and a half with a twenty minute break for some tasty hot chocolate and marshmallow roasting.

The Sombrero Stables are up in Snow Mountain Ranch just outside of Tabernash, CO with some of the best views you will get of the Fraser Valley. Compass was the name of our driver and she could not have been more appropriately named with the superb handling of the horses Ben and Wyatt.

Guests of Winter Park Lodging Company receive a discount on sleigh rides, sleigh dinners and horseback rides.

Sombrero Stable Pricing for WPLCo guests are shown below. Present your VIP Guest Discount Card provided in your Winter Park Lodging Company vacation rental to get these deals.

Hot Cocoa Sleigh Ride:
Adult: $23.00* (regular price $28)
Children 6-11 years old:$20.00* (regular price $25)
Children 3-5 years old:$10.00 (regular price $12)
Children 3 years and under: Free (regular price $6)

Dinner Sleigh Ride:
Angus steak, roasted chicken or poached Rocky Mountain trout, served with a fresh dinner salad, baked potato, ranch beans, garlic bread. Fruit cobbler with ice-cream for dessert.
Adult: $55.00 each or $50 per couple* (regular price $60)
Children 6-11: $40.00 (regular price $45)
Children 5 and under: $15.00 (regular price $15)
Children 5 and under also have the option to go without a dinner plate for free (normally $5)!

One Hour Trail Ride:
(offered as long as the weather permits).
$32.00 per person
No double riders, they highly suggest kids be at least eight years of age once we have snow on the ground.

If you have kids and want a day to get outside and see what Winter Park and Grand County is all about check out the horse-drawn sleigh rides from Sombrero Stables. Below is a short video of the sleigh and horses right before we stopped for out hot chocolate and marshmallow roasting break. Check it out!

Learning to ski at Winter Park Resort

Posted on December 3, 2010 by Chris

Skiing with Children in Winter Park, CO

Where was the first place that you skied? What was your favorite run as child? Well pretty much all my childhood memories of skiing are right here in Winter Park, Colorado. My oldest brother, David, would take me and my two other older brothers, Matthew & Stephen, and slog us up the hill and try to ski down with me between his legs. David is now up for sainthood. Even though I remember it being very hard and sometimes cold the biggest memory is of how incredibly fun it was to get out on the slopes on snow and shuush down the hill. Probably just a convenient memory because at four I was definitely not shuushing.

Anywho, it is time for me to pay back the teaching. We have been taking our twin boys, Nicholas & Willem, out to the teaching areas at Winter Park and Mary Jane and man what a kick they are getting out it. The above video is of Mom and Nicholas hitting Discovery Park. After a few runs at Mt. Maury we took Nicholas up the Gemini and let him get after some skiing. we then went back down and Nicholas fell in love with the magic carpet and trying to do pizza with his skis. The edgy-wedgy helps a lot with the young kids keeping the skis together.

At the end of the day we met up with Teddy, Niko and Theo for some french fries, PB & J and some nice sunshine. We will be heading out this weekend with both Nicholas & Willem and those two will be rippen’ up the slopes. A couple more trips to Winter Park and Mary Jane and the little tykes will be ready for Winter Park Ski School.

learn to ski winter park colorado skiing with kids at Winter Park mary jane

Winter Park, CO Festival of the Trees

Posted on November 9, 2010 by Chris

holiday trees winter park CO Christmas Trees Winter Park, Colorado

Looking to get a Christmas tree? How about get a tree and give to charity at the same time? Well, the Winter Park Festival of the trees is a great way to get a tree and donate to charity. Get out of the house with the kids and bid on a Christmas Tree.

Date: 12/14/10

Location: Beaver Village Lodge

Time: 4pm-8pm

This event benefits over 20+ Grand County Charitable Foundations and it’s FREE! It is a display and silent auction of Trees and Wreaths along with a specialty Dessert Auction. There will be food and refreshments, and Santa will be there for the kids along with a Christmas song sing-along.

Christmas is coming so you will need a tree. Why not get it at the silent auction and help out one of Grand Counties charitable foundations.

Horseback Riding in Winter Park: Steak Dinner Ride

Posted on August 8, 2010 by Chris

Bernie's Backside

My brother and his family plus my 77 year old dad were in town last week, so we decided to be tourists and headed to Sombrero Stables in Snow Mountain Ranch (a YMCA camp) for a steak dinner horseback ride.

We had to arrive by 3:30 to be matched with our horses (I got “Hitch” who liked to eat grass). We were riding by 4:15 in a straight line with our nice guide who rode looking back at us to be sure we were ok.

We rode the horses into a nice trail, thru some beautiful big aspens and by a meadow where our guide said she saw a moose just a few days before. We squinted and hoped, but no moose appeared. It was very peaceful and not scary in the least, since they don’t let you go any faster than a walk, although we learned the trick of holding the horse back a bit and then got to trot to catch up.

We arrived at our dinner spot – a wagon-looking grill and picnic area. By that point, one of my nephews was in the deep depths of a horse allergic reaction so they offered (and he accepted) to take some Benedryl and ride back down in the car. He hung out with us for dinner though which was surprisingly good. We had steak, excellent grilled potatoes, beans, and bread. They even had “Cowboy Coffee” for the caffeine addicted.

Wagon Grill

Got back on the horses and by that point we were aching a bit (knees, bum, etc) but we made it back before sunset and said goodbye to Bernie, Hitch, and the rest of the horses. One hint – if you tell them you’re an experienced rider, they give you the horses that act up a bit so for the most enjoyable time, swallow your pride and tell them you’ve never put your foot in a saddle.

Strongly recommend this fun activity for families with kids (age 3 and up) or groups that want to take enjoy the scenery and West without flying down a mountain on a bike or falling in the river on a raft. Thank you, Sombrero Stables!

Day at Grand Lake, Colorado for $2

Posted on July 18, 2010 by Chris

I took the kids to Grand Lake this week for a day of fun and we spent a whopping $2. If you have toddlers that are entertained by water, sand, and ice cream, give it a try for a day while you are here. Here’s what our day looked like:

9am – departed Winter Park with lunch packed

9:40am – arrived in Grand Lake, parked on main drag across from park

9:40 am – 10:40am – played on big play structures in park with lots of other kids. Four swings – 2 for little guys, 2 for bigger kids.

10:40 – walked down to lake (3 minute walk) and played at “beach”. Nice thing is that water is really cold do you don’t have to worry much about your toddlers jumping right in. They think it’s good enough to get their feet wet and laugh at the dogs jumping in after the ball. Lots of sailboats and motor boats where out. If you wanted to break the $2 budget, you could rent paddleboats (seat 4) for $24/hr for 2 people or $32/hr for 4 people. You can also rent boats right there too but that would probably break the bank.

11:30am – had packed lunch on picnic benches and faced the water so we were entertained with the view. Kids ate

Yum! $1 cones.

more than normal. Guess this strategy worked.

12 noon – packed up lunch, and headed to ice cream. You can go right there by the beach (homemade ice cream, looked good) but we went back up to the ice cream joint in town b/c there were about 30 people in line at the one by the beach. Got a chocolate ice cream – kid size – for each child in sugar cone. $1 each. wow! Sat outside on a bench for little kids and they looked so cute eating their ice cream, a lady stopped and took a picture of them with her camera.

12:30pm – walked the boardwalk a bit and then got in the car and headed back to Winter Park

12:40pm – two boys fast asleep in the car just as the afternoon rain started to fall.

Crankworx Bike Fest Winter Park, CO

Posted on July 15, 2010 by Chris

Colorado crankworx lodging Winter Park Bike Festival

The biggest Colorado bike festival of the year is almost here. Get ready for gravity defying mountain bike riding at the biggest and best bike park in the state.

Crankworx runs from July 29th to August 1st. Watch the world’s best freeride mountain bikers battle it out for over $35,000 in prizes in Winter Park’s Trestle Bike Park. Catch the high-flying action of Slopestyle, the intense speed and head-to-head competition of Dual Slalom, or watch the pros tackle most difficult trail in Trestle Bike Park in the UCI/Pro GRT Downhill competition. Plus, check out the latest in bike gear from a variety of manufacturers in the Vendor Village, free live music and parties in the evening and more! You won’t want to miss this event.

Crankworks 2010 events include:

July 29, 2010: Dual Slalom Slopestyle Qualifiers
July 30, 2010: Super Downhill Best Trick
July 31, 2010: Cross Country Slopestyle Finals
August 1, 2010: UCI/PRO GRT Downhill

Make sure to get your lodging at the Winter Park base close to where the competition will be going on. Last year the base are was full so make your reservation today to get the primo digs.

Winter Park Lodging Company is offering 3rd night free so come up and see the the festival and experience the whole Crankworx weekend.

When you’re not busy watching this incredible mountain biking event, you and your kids can also enjoy other activities in the Winter Park area:
•skateboarding at the skate park in Hideaway Park in downtown Winter Park
•horseback riding
•alpine slide
•miniature golf
•lift rides
•hiking
•mountain biking
•golf (at nearby Pole Creek Golf Course, Headwaters Golf Course, Grand Lake Golf Course, or Grand Elk Golf Course)
•fishing in rivers, streams, and lakes

Hoe Down in the Wild West of Winter Park

Posted on June 29, 2010 by Chris

Who doesn’t love a good Hoe Down? It’s fun for the whole family. You can go to an authentic Hoe Down in Tabernash, just 15 minutes from Winter Park. Sombrero Stables at Snow Mountain Ranch invites you to Hoe Down with them every Friday night, the last one is August 13th. Starting at 5:30 and ending at 9:30, you can enjoy live entertainment, wagon rides, a game of horse shoes, and kids games. Dinner, cowboy fare of pulled pork and hot dogs with all the fixin’s and a drink, is included. Adults are $20, children 6-12 are $15, and kids 5 and under are $8. (There are reduced rates if you choose to eat before you go. Adults-$15, Kids $10, and Tots $5. ) Tickets are available at the Stables office. Give them a call at 970 887 1999 to reserve your saddle today.

No. 2 Hiking Trail of the Week in Winter Park, CO

Posted on June 5, 2010 by Chris

Rocky Mountain National Park Hiking Trails

The second edition of the hike of the week is back for Winter Park, Colorado. This week the hike takes a little drive from WP up to Rocky Mountain National Park. This week’s hike is a relatively easy and short hike that goes to a beautiful waterfall and continues to a stunning meadow with great mountain views and small ponds teaming with fish. There is a charge to get into Rocky Mountain National Park but this hike is a hike in and there is no fee. If you continue to drive into the Park there is a charge

On the way back stop in Grand Lake and check out Colorado’s biggest natural lake with some of the best views in Colorado.

Adams Falls, East Inlet Trail – Winter Park Hike of the Week

(Rocky Mountain National Park)

BEGINNING ELEVATION: 8400ft.

ENDING ELEVATION: 8480ft.

Miles one way: .5 miles to Adams Falls, 1 mile to the glaciated valley

Rating: Easy

Trailhead Location: From the Winter Park Visitor’s Center drive north on US HWY 40 19 miles through Granby to US HWY 34 and turn right. Continue for about 15.3 miles to the Grand Lake Visitor Center and turn right in to the village of grand Lake. At the Mountain Food Market, the road will veer to the rights into Grand Lake (a wooden sign days “Welcome to Grand Lake”) veer left and follow the road for 2 miles to the end of the road to a parking lot, the trailhead is well marked.

Trail Information: This is an easy hike up to a beautiful waterfall. It is suitable for all ages. Be careful at the top of the waterfall as the water is fast and strong. Keep small children well away from the water’s edge at the falls and stay on the trail only. If you decide to, you can continue on another .5 miles past the falls in to an alpine meadow with gorgeous views of “Mt. Baldy” and ponds full of fish.

Special Trail regulations: This hike is in the Rocky Mountain National Park so no dogs or bikes are allowed.

Stay tuned next week for the third installation of the Winter Park Hike of the week.

Winter Park Hike of the Week No. 1

Adams Falls, East Inlet Trail
(Rocky Mountain National Park)

BEGINNING ELEVATION: 8400ft.

ENDING ELEVATION: 8480ft.

Miles one way: .5 miles to Adams Falls, 1 mile to the glaciated valley

Rating: Easy

Trailhead Location: From the Winter Park Visitor’s Center drive north on

US HWY 40 19 miles through Granby to US HWY 34 and turn right. Continue fir about 15.3 miles to the Grand Lake Visitor Center and turn right in to the village of grand Lake. At the Mountain Food Market, the road will veer to the rights into Grand Lake (a wooden sign days “Welcome to Grand Lake”) veer left and follow the road for 2 miles to the end of the road to a parking lot, the trailhead is well marked.
Trail Information: This is an easy hike up to a beautiful waterfall. It is suitable for all ages. Be careful at the top of the waterfall as the water is fast and strong. Keep small children well away from the water’s edge at the falls and stay on the trail only. If you decide to, you can continue on another .5 miles past the falls in to an alpine meadow with gorgeous views of “Mt. Baldy” and ponds full of fish.

Special Trail regulations: This hike is in the Rocky Mountain National Park so no dogs or bikes are allowed.

Crankworks 2010 events include:

Adams Falls, East Inlet Trail (Rocky Mountain National Park)

Adams Falls, East Inlet Trail
(Rocky Mountain National Park)